In the past welding machines of various makes and manufacturers have been used, such incorporating or being adapted for both local and remote control and, of course, supplying power by virtue of power leads or cables that are specially constructed to deliver large quantities of power to heli-arc or rod welding equipment. Where several welders are working in the building being constructed, the mazes of welding wires and leads become appreciable in this extent, so much so that it is very difficult to trace a wire from one welding machine to its end equipment. This presents a number of difficulties to workmen, continuing or substitute, who must associate particular end equipment with a particular welding machine. The present invention solves this difficulty by color coding individual ones of the cables.
A second difficulty is presented in present day welding equipment since control cables routed from the welding machine to the remote control unit is a cable totally separate from the power cable. In the present invention this condition is corrected in that the control cable is made an integral part of the power cable. This is done by cementing the two cables together at the manufacturing point, vulcanizing the two cables together, or even forming a single insulative jacket which incorporates the respective cable elements. In a preferred form of the invention, one component cable of the composite welding cable is supplied an outer jacket that has long-wear characteristics. Heretofore, workmen have had to tape the two cables together for a particular welding machine, i.e., the control cable and the power cable. However, the tape wears out very fast when cables are being dragged along the floor or ground or other surface. Additionally, the taping does not provide for color coding as the art is presently practiced.
Certain U.S. patents are relevant to the invention, and these are as follows:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,548,204, 2,126,490, 2,175,749, 2,320,470, 3,020,335, 3,328,514, 3,663,359, 3,715,458, 4,077,849, and 4,128,736.
These patents pertain, in general, to welding equipment, color coding, and to wires joined together by individual jackets. None of these patents, however, are believed to teach either the concept of control and power cables being integrally joined, their ends being separable, or of providing conveniently long-lived color coding thereto. In certain non-analogous art such as non-electrical, gas conducting hoses, use of color-coded gas-conducting hoses has been recognized.